NEW YORK — More than 250 business leaders gathered Friday at the seventh annual Out Leadership: U.S. LGBT+ Senior Leader Summit, hosted by Time Warner at the Time Warner Center in New York, and sponsored by Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
Out Leadership is the global LGBT+ business advisory company, partnering with the world’s most influential firms to build business opportunity, cultivate talent, and drive equality forward. The executives had gathered at the summit to discuss the role of business in creating and sustaining inclusion in an uncertain world.
“Time Warner is honored to serve for the first time as host for Out Leadership’s LGBT+ Senior Leader Summit in the United States,” said Jeff Bewkes, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Time Warner Inc. “Across our company, we pride ourselves on being home to the world’s best storytellers and helping them share their creativity and passion with audiences across the globe. Cultivating diversity in all its forms — of our content, products and people — is one of our most important business imperatives.”
“Greenberg Traurig is proud to continue our tradition of working with Out Leadership on the U.S. Summit and of celebrating diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and the business community. ‘Inclusion is Good for Business’ is not only an appropriate title for this Summit, but it also describes one of the critical aspects of professional life at our firm. From our inception, we have demonstrated that an inclusive, supportive environment translates into an increase in employee engagement, better client service, and a greater capability for success for everyone,” said Brian L. Duffy, Chief Executive Officer of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
“We are proud to stand with the LGBT+ community once more and we are committed to actions that afford or strengthen the inclusion of and opportunities for LGBT+ individuals. Everyone deserves to live and work in an open environment that is safe from discrimination and whose leadership understands and practices inclusion. With approximately 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia, diversity and inclusion are a way of life at Greenberg Traurig,” remarked Duffy.
“The business case for LGBT+ inclusion remains stronger than ever, and global businesses remain dedicated to their LGBT+ customers, employees, and leaders — despite the rapid pace of political change around the world,” said Todd Sears, Founder and Principal of Out Leadership. “When we started Out Leadership in 2011, with six founding firms in a Deutsche Bank conference room downtown, we believed that business had the opportunity to play a more important role in the global conversation about inclusion and equality for LGBT+ people. That remains our guiding premise, and we’ve seen it create enormous impact around the world.”
